DISCLAIMER: *tackles Frodo and steals back the Ring* Hoo-rah! I have re-stolen the One Ring that allows me unlimited powers over all great literary works of… *becomes the victim of Sam's wrath as he steals back the Ring* Stupid, fat hobbit!
Fine, currently Sam owns the rights to this… until I get hold of him… Yes, precious… hiss…
It was day two of their journey through Moria, at least according to Gandalf. AJ was pretty sure it was longer, but had no interest in picking a fight with the wizard.
She hated the underworld feeling of the abandoned Dwarf city, which had been created thousands of years before even Gandalf had come to Middle-Earth. The oppressing darkness felt so close, powerful enough to suffocate her, dragging her down into the pits of Moria with the decomposing corpses. The silence was absolute, save for their soft footsteps on the worn stone. The warm, stuffy air, polluted with the stench of death, didn't help matters any.
The stages of their journey had passed by in a blur, consisting of staying as near to the comforting light from Gandalf's staff as much as was humanly possible, cautiously watching the remainder of the Fellowship to make sure no one wandered off, and numbly staring into darkness during the bleak watches of what her body insisted was 'night'. AJ couldn't wait to get out of Moria, and she was convinced the rest of the group shared her opinion.
Chanie was still sure someone would die in the mines, which had AJ concerned. Is it going to be Frodo? Or is someone else going to bite the bullet protecting him? Is it me? She kept an extra careful eye on the Hobbit anyways, her cousin's fear spreading to her. Frodo was the most likely target for an attack, and so would be the most protected… or at least, that was the theory.
She touched Chanie's arm lightly for balance as she inched her way along a narrow path, set high above a yawning hole. The dense shadows prevented her from seeing more than a few feet out, but she was pretty sure it would be fairly deep.
Just ahead, Gandalf paused to run his hand down a vein of a silvery substance within the rock wall. "The wealth of Moria lay not in gold, or jewels, but mithril." He extended his staff over the pit, increasing the glow from its end. AJ looked down and gasped in shock.
The Dwarves had maintained an extensive mining operation whilst in Moria, as the ancient scaffolding and other equipment suspended over the gaping abyss. Even with the increased output from Gandalf's oversized wand, the bottom of the hole was invisible. For that matter, so was the top. AJ was completely stunned. How did they do it?
Gandalf lessened the intensity of the light emitting from his staff as the Fellowship continued its journey. "Bilbo had a shirt of mithril rings that Thorin gave him." AJ could vaguely recall hearing about how Frodo's uncle Bilbo had travelled with Gimli's father, as well as a group of other Dwarves, to drive a dragon out of their mountain home. It was in that journey that Bilbo had picked up the Ring that now hung around Frodo's neck like a lead weight.
Gimli's gasp echoed in the cavern, "That was a kingly gift!"
"Yes", agreed Gandalf. "I never told Bilbo, but its worth was greater then that if the Shire!"
AJ's eyebrows met her hairline. If the little country where the Hobbits lived could be bought with one chain-mail shirt, it was either a really nice shirt or a really trashy country. If the Shire residents in the group were any indication, the odds were swinging towards the shirt being really nice.
In front of her, Chanie was softly smirking. AJ bumped her cousin's arm. "Ok, dish out, what's the joke?"
Chanie just smiled back. "You'll see!" AJ rolled her eyes at the annoying sing-song voice and stuck her tongue out, earning a soft laugh before the trek continued past the gaping abyss into what Gandalf said was the more 'civilized' side of Moria.
***
Day 3... Or maybe 4… It was near the end of the journey, for which AJ was grateful.
She leaned against a small outcropping of stone, one of many pieces of rubble. Around her, the rest of the Fellowship sprawled on the stones as they waited for Gandalf to decide which road to take. The almighty wizard was lost, and now the subject of Merry and Pippin's whispering.
Gimli was sitting near AJ. He looked over, sympathy creasing his face. "You are uncomfortable with being here, lass. Is it being under a mountain, a problem our dear Elf dislikes, or the dark?"
AJ made a face. "The dark. I've been deathly scared of it since I was little." At Gimli's concerned look she continued; "When I was four years old my older brother locked me in a dark closet and then 'forgot' to tell my father where I was. It was several hours before they found me, and by then I had developed a permanent fear of the dark."
Nearby, Boromir shuddered in sympathy. "That sounds like what happened to one of my cousins. He still hates small enclosed spaces."
AJ sighed. "Aye, that is common in our world, to be afraid of small places. We have a name for it; claustrophobia." She shuddered. She could still remember the feeling of soft coats against her that felt suspiciously like spiders, the suffocating feeling from being trapped in pitch darkness overwhelming. "I still will not willingly go into any place where I can not see anything."
"I remember that," nodded Chanie. "You were too terrified to even go in the room with that same closet for months."
AJ made a face at the memory but didn't get a chance to answer, for at that moment Gandalf called out a triumphant, "It's that way!"
"He's remembered!" crowed Merry as the Fellowship prepared to follow the old wizard down one of the staircases.
"No," answered Gandalf, "but the air doesn't smell so foul down here. If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose." He luckily didn't see AJ roll her eyes and give Chanie a bemused look. Follow your nose? How lame is that?
***
They had been hiking for a long while when they walked through a large doorway into what felt like an open space. Of course, with the damn darkness, AJ couldn't tell. For all she knew, they could have walked into another Dwarf sized tunnel.
"Let me risk a little more light," murmured Gandalf as the staff illuminated more. AJ gasped as the huge cavern was revealed to be a series of magnificent graceful pillars, holding up the immense weight of the stone above their heads. The pillars stretched into Dwarrowdelf as far as the eye could see, giving the impression of a gigantic city. AJ could imagine a large crowd of Dwarves once bustling about the columns in their regular lives… before the city was deserted. She had no clue what could have driven the Dwarves away from here, besides a full-scale Orc attack.
They had been walking through the city for perhaps an hour when they saw a doorway up ahead. Gimli shot one glance through the door before shouting, "No!" and racing into the small room, ignoring Gandalf's warning voice. Chanie moaned slightly, her face the absolute expression of sorrow.
The rest of the Fellowship followed Gimli into the small room, which was littered with decaying corpses. The Dwarf himself was kneeling in front of a white oblong rock, bitterly weeping. Gandalf read over the Dwarf's shoulder; "Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria." The wizard sighed. "He is dead then. It is as I feared." Any further words he may have wished to say were drowned out in another heart-wrenching wail from Gimli.
AJ shifted uncomfortably as the old man bent to lift a huge book out of the hands of the skeleton holding it. She was aware of Legolas muttering to Aragorn, "We should leave now. We cannot linger." For once, AJ agreed with the Elf.
"They have taken the bridge, and the second hall." Gandalf's voice resonated in the small chamber, captivating the small audience. "We have barred the gates, but cannot hold them for long. Drums. Drums in the deep." He turned the page. "We cannot get out. They are coming."
Pippin chose to spoil the moment by nudging the arrow sticking out of a corpse sitting on a well. Unfortunately for the Hobbit, the displacement of the cobwebs sent the rest of the corpse crashing down the well, with enough racket to be heard all across Moria. No one in the chamber with Balin's tomb dared breathe until the last echoes had died away.
Irritably, Gandalf stalked over to Pippin and snatched back his staff and hat, given to the Hobbit for safe-keeping. "Fool of a Took! Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity!"
Ouch, thought AJ. Harsh! She did not get a chance to say anymore, though, as drums sounded from up the corridor. Even Gandalf froze, fear painfully evident in his eyes. Drums in the deep! Is this what happened to the last Dwarves? Did they die here like we're about to? AJ wondered if she and Chanie would go home if they were killed here, or if they would go to… well, whatever afterlife there was here in Middle-Earth. I don't want to die!
"Get back!" roared Aragorn, startling everyone into motion. "Stay close to Gandalf!" He shoved Chanie to stand with the Hobbits, AJ following.
She was already reaching for her bow, unhooking it from her quiver. A moment's hesitation, and she turned to Chanie. "My hands are full, take my sword! You need it more than I do; I have my knives as well."
Chanie hesitated before reaching around her friend and drawing the sword. She set herself into a karate stance, no doubt wishing she had taken the weapons training class. The Hobbits clustered behind her, their own weapons drawn. Frodo's sword was glowing lightsabre-blue.
Boromir raced to the door, risking a quick peek outside and nearly losing his head for it, as a couple of arrows buried themselves in the rotted wood. He managed to force the doors closed, just as a roar echoed into the chamber. The tall Man's voice sounded slightly exasperated. "They have a cave troll!" He and Aragorn started wedging the doors shut, using the old axes Legolas tossed to them.
Gimli climbed onto the tomb with a growl. "Let them come! There is one Dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath!" AJ concluded that Dwarvish revenge was a very nasty thing to be a recipient of.
She loaded her bow, standing along Aragorn and Legolas, who both had their arrows lined up towards the door. The shrill cries of the Orcs were clearly heard by all. The door started to tremble under the force of constant blows on the weakened barrier. Holes started appearing in the wood, which Aragorn and Legolas easily shot through. AJ tried, but ended up embedding her arrow in the door, earning a rolling of the eyes from Legolas. She would have liked to glare at him but didn't get a chance, as all hell suddenly broke loose.
AJ was numbly aware of firing a single arrow into one Orc's face, a millisecond before she had to pull out her knives, using them as short swords against the goblins. She could hear Chanie behind her, guarding Frodo with the borrowed sword. Bloodthirsty war cries were coming from both sides of the fight, but AJ's throat was too tight for her to release more then a squeak.
She didn't know how long she had been fighting for, when a ghastly roar sounded. Dust and rock fell to the floor as the cave troll barged into the room, bellowing. AJ recoiled, not only from fear at having to face the 10 foot beast. That may be the ugliest thing I have ever seen!
Spinning, she took down an Orc with a high roundhouse kick to his throat, whilst musing on how random thoughts were in a heated, desperate situation. I wonder why the brain does that? Maybe it's to keep some semblance of sanity while in- Holy crap! She drove a dagger into another goblin's abdomen, trying to ignore the high-pitched shriek of pain from the creature and the sensation of black ooze covering her hand. Gross!
A quick glance to the side was all she had time for as the troll's chain came sailing around, catching her by the waist. With a cry of pain, she went flying onto a small ledge, feeling new bruises spring up all over her body. Somehow, she managed to grab a pillar and keep herself from falling, although she wasn't conscious enough to register the movement. What did penetrate her mind was the image of the troll reaching a huge hand out to grab her. She could discern the dirt caked under thick grimy fingernails, could smell the sweat coming of the beast's body. Before she could roll away, the hand grabbed her foot, dragging her off the ledge. A scream ripped itself out of her throat, a scream of terror at the painful death she was going to endure.
She suddenly went down as Boromir attacked the troll from the other side, landing on an Orc corpse, stunned. She watched numbly as the enraged animal swung his chain at Boromir, whip-like, attempting to take him down. The only thing that saved the man's life was Gimli throwing an axe at the creature, drawing attention to the furious Dwarf.
The Gondorian wasted no time in rushing to AJ, carefully picking her up. "Do you feel alright?"
AJ cautiously twisted her neck and shook out the rest of her body. Nothing appeared to be broken, just really, really sore. "For someone who was just jumped, whipped, thrown, flown, grabbed and dropped, I'm doing remarkably well, thanks for asking!"
Boromir stared at her for a moment before shaking his head and softly laughing. "Then let us rid the world of this nuisance that has committed these atrocities against you, shall we?"
AJ grinned. "I like that idea!" Hmm, maybe he's not such a jerk after all… The two turned back to the task at hand, startled by a cry from Frodo. The troll had just pinned him to the wall with a spear that could have belonged to Goliath. AJ hissed in alarm before reaching for her bow. She scowled upon seeing how badly broken it was. Damn troll! Another thought entered her mind; Was this the death Chanie saw? Is Frodo about to die?
Merry and Pippin suddenly roared with rage as they jumped onto the troll's back, stabbing with their weapons. Chanie, a bruise darkening her temple, jumped in front of Frodo, sword at the ready. Beside AJ, Boromir yelled in fury as he jumped into the fray, only to jump back out a moment later as the troll's arm smashed down where the man had been a second before.
AJ raced to kneel beside Frodo. The Hobbit lay on his front, one arm stretched out in front of him. Hissing softly in shock and grief, the teen touched his shoulder, gently shaking him. "C'mon, wake up!" There was no response.
She heard the loud thud as the troll was finally brought down, followed by the sounds of a weak Aragorn dragging himself to the Hobbit with a soft "Oh, no!" Sam knelt beside AJ, fear etched into his round face.
She reached forward, helping Aragorn turn the Hobbit onto his back. She thought she heard a gasp… but wouldn't he be… She yelped softly in surprise as Frodo put a hand to his chest, breathing hard. "Holy smoke, he's alive!"
Frodo wearily sat up. "I'm alright, I'm not hurt."
"You should be dead," gasped Aragorn, in as much shock as AJ was. "That spear would have skewered a wild boar!" AJ had no idea of how large a wild boar was, but she imagined it would have to be huge, to require a spear of that size.
Gandalf stepped forward, leaning on his staff, a smile on his face. "I think there's more to this Hobbit than meets the eye."
AJ frowned at the wizard and her smirking cousin before turning back to Frodo and letting her mouth fall open at the sight of the shimmering mail shirt, cleverly concealed under his regular clothing. Chanie started to giggle at everyone's startled expressions.
Gimli gasped. "Mithril!"
Wowza, so this is that priceless mithril Gandalf was talking about? Cool! AJ's thoughts paused as Gimli added, with a grin, "You are full of surprises, Master Baggins!"
"No duh," agreed AJ, a smile on her face.
The Fellowship relaxed for about 4 seconds, before the harsh cries of the goblins started again. Chanie's face paled, her smile disappearing. "They're coming back."
Gandalf didn't hesitate. "To the bridge of Khazad-Dum."
Ok, I know it took forever, and here's the reasons why:
Technology hates me
Work and school got in the way
I was not at my computer for all of last week
Writer's block
Trying to write a Star Wars fic and getting even worse writer's block with that
A huge school band performance where I had to perform 6 solo guitar songs! Practice for that took the majority of my time! (And I have another huge band competition next week, so I will be most likely to busy to write… sorry!)
Biology 30 and Social 30. 'Nuff said.
There's my list of excuses, all of which are valid! Please don't hurt me! I promise I'll try to update the rest of the Moria story as soon as I can! And I'll try to get that Star Wars fic out ASAP for those who are interested… if I can get over the #$(%&^ writer's block…
Apologies also for the length, you now see why Moria is going to be a minimum of two chapters by itself… I haven't even started thinking about Lorien yet! But what can I say? This should make up for the multiple-week long suspense! Remember, good things come to those who wait!
Comments? Suggestions? Death threats involving legions of Orcs, Nazgul or Ra'zac? Bring it on! I like reviews and helpful suggestions! No flames! Be warned, I have friends in high places… like my Elf friends… and my Jedi karate teacher… So HA! (sorry, late at night and a wee bit too much sugar…)
I swear, I'll update as soon as I possibly can! Don't hurt me!
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